After defeating the New England Revolution 2-1 Wednesday, Real Salt Lake traveled to Canada to take on the Montreal Impact. RSL got off to a bright start with lots of high pressure on Montreal’s defense, and led to an early own goal. Full back Lovel Palmer hit a long range shot that deflected off Ferarri, over his goal keeper’s head, and into the back of his own net. 1-0 RSL.

RSL had multiple chances through Devon Sandoval, Sebastian Velasquez and Olmes Garcia, but good saves from Troy Perkins or firing their shots just wide kept them up just one goal. Sandoval and Garcia gave the Impact defense fits with their runs off the ball and physical play, leaving room for Javier Morales and Sebastian Velasquez in the midfield. Olmes Garcia in particular never stopped running on any chance making it hard for the Montreal’s defenders to keep track of him.

Despite their offensive chances, the defense lacked leadership with the absence of Nat Borchers, who was out with the flu. Chris Schuler and Kwame Watson-Siriboe starting along side each other, and Lovel Palmer started in place of Tony Beltran with Chris Wingert starting on the other side. Justin Mapp fired a cross into the box and picked out a wide open Felipe who powered it home, drawing the teams on level terms just before half time.

From a corner, Javier Morales found Olmes Garcia, who headed it backwards to a probing Kyle Beckerman who passed it past Troy Perkins to put the away team up 2-1.

The lead was short lived, however, as Marco Di Vaio controversially scored three minutes later. In the run of play Di Vaio seemed onsides, but after looking at the replay it was clear that he was almost half a body off.

It looked like Joao Plata, who came on as a late sub, would score the game winner in the 85th minute as Morales played a perfectly weighted pass to him, but Plata fired it straight at the keeper.

Montreal then earned a corner in one of the last plays of the game which found an unmarked Ferarri who made no mistake in scoring the game winner in the last minute of stoppage time. The game ended 3-2 for Montreal despite RSL’s control of the majority of the game.

photo courtesy of New York Red Bulls facebook page

They came, they saw…and they conquered. And while I must admit that I didn’t watch the game – oh come on, I just realized I don’t have an MLS Live account and my cable provider doesn’t have MSG+. We are a series of unfortunate events here but what I can say is that the Twitter feed for @NewYorkRedBulls gave me life. You must be thinking right about now – so how is she going to do this? How can Danielle even talk about the game when she only followed on Twitter? Very carefully, my darlings…

I mean it wasn’t a perfect game with the late goal from Montreal’s Marco Di Vaio in the 91st minute but no one is going to talk about that because we’re all still talking about Theirry Henry’s 45th minute textbook perfect bicycle kick as evidenced here:

See what I mean? Perfection. And when Thierry Henry is on fire like this, well it is just natural that Tim Cahill has to follow suit in the 88th minutes because it feels like the guys are playing this “one for me, one for you” game that I’m clearly falling in love with every week.

It’s worth noting that the Montreal Impact really did try to breakdown NYRB’s defense on their home field but it never really seemed to work for them. Jonny Steele worked hard at creating chances early on but once again, was not able to penetrate the Impact’s defense. The Red Bulls would lose Peguy Luyindula early on with a hamstring injury that would bring in Fabian Espindola early on. This is just what the Red Bulls needed to start putting pressure on Montreal until that beautiful goal from Henry had New York one over the Impact going into half time.

photo courtesy of New York Red Bulls facebook page

The heat was on when both teams came back from the break. Player changes from both sides As head coach, Mike Petke would later say, “I don’t have much to say, to be honest with you. Four in a row, five out of six, I’m never satisfied. I think when we possessed the ball, when we had a purpose going forward, when we had options off ball movement I think we showed how dangerous we could be. Naturally when you go up a goal you get pinned in. There a very good team, a lot of quality, but I think we defended again for about six games now strongly and they did their job.” No doubt, New York is still sitting atop the Eastern Conference after tonight.

It definitely was fun to have midweek games – even if a few of us are not fans of them. Some of us get busy and lob off Midweek Muscles on our editors while others have commitments for dinner parties and all things involving cake and cocktails…but who am I kidding? I love the Red Bulls and cannot wait to see what else this team has to offer. There is still no word on when Luyindula will be back to play and we are still missing your favorite and my #1 crush, Dax McCarty. I have suddenly lost my train of thought but I promise you this…New York is definitely the one to beat these days.

You can catch the Red Bulls when they take on New England Revolution on May 11th…this is a road game for the Red Bulls and we know how well they are playing those lately. The game will be televised on MSG and yes, I will be watching this time.

*NERD ALERT!!!  This post is not for the faint of heart or those who “never got into” Star Wars.*

Buck Shaw Stadium, on the campus of Santa Clara University.  It was a day so hot one felt like Anakin/Vader when he was set on fire by volcanic lava.  Alright, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it was unpleasantly warm.

Sam Cronin and Steven Beitashour

For me, at least, the heat increased my irritation with yet another draw.  Don’t get me wrong, a draw is far better than a loss–but at some point, we need to start getting those Ws.  As pundits have been quick to point out, this is the Quakes’ longest winless streak since the dark and dismal days of 2011.  I do not appreciate the reminder of that time, so I will send those memories back to the dark hole in which I have buried them.

So, back to the game at hand.  The force was certainly strong with both San Jose keeper Jon Busch and Montreal Impact keeper Troy Perkins.  Busch pulled out a few more Jedi mind tricks–stonewalling Felipe Martins in a one-on-one attempt–and Perkins busted out some moves against Wondo, et al that would have made Yoda proud.

Justin Mapp scored both the goals for Montreal, putting them up 2-0 by the 47th minute.  Adam Jahn, starting in place of the suspended Steven Lenhart and Alan Gordon, got one back for the Quakes in the 59th minute–earlier than usual.  Jahn slotted the ball into Montreal’s goal as coolly and precisely as Luke Skywalker firing torpedoes into a thermal exhaust port to destroy the Death Star.  Granted, the goal did not explode like the Death Star did, although I would have greatly enjoyed that.

The tying goal came in a wholly goonie-like fashion–scored in the 91st minute–but from a somewhat unexpected source: midfielder Sam Cronin.  Cronin is a workhorse who has proven his value time and again in holding down the center of the field alongside Rafa Baca.  While it is not a rare occurrence for him to take the shot, it is rare that he actually scores (this marks his 2nd goal in his four years in San Jose).  Much like Han Solo, he came through for his team when it mattered.  [Side note: please do not read too far into this analogy, as I do not mean to imply that Cronin is a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder or that Baca is a wookie.]

It was another draw that almost-but-not-really felt like a win.  While it is encouraging that the Quakes are playing well–for they have in fact been playing well and creating several chances–at some point, luck needs to be on our side.  Or the Force.

Fortunately, we have not yet reached the “help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope” stage of desperation.  There is still much soccer to be played, many battles to be fought and many victories to be won.  Who knows, in the end Princess Leia–er, Don Garber may present our beloved heroes with the MLS Cup trophy.

Image courtesy of SJEarthquakes.com

The Montreal Impact have started this still-young MLS season on fire. With a record of  4-1-1, Montreal was always going to be a formidable foe for the Chicago Fire, who are 2-4-1.  If  the Fire wanted to escape Montreal with three points today, they were going to have to score first.  Chicago has an incredible record of 18-0-5 when scoring first.  Against the Columbus Crew last week, The Big Red had an amazing 20 shots and 7 of those were on goal and luckily one found the back of the net.  One goal is all it took to get the “W” and earn three points.  Today, they needed more of the same to contend with the Mighty Impact.

Photo courtesy of Chicago Fire Facebook.

The Chicago Fire and Montreal Impact played to a scoreless tie during first half of play.  Both teams had some good looks, but failed to score off any of them. Fire head coach Frank Klopas said during halftime, “We played well.  Held the ball and had some good looks.  We just need to capitalize on those opportunities at the second half.”

At the 57 minute mark,  Montreal’s Impact’s 23 year-old Andres Romrero from Argentina made a sweet fake from the left side of the box and fired a rocket from the right to hit the back of the net for the first goal of the game.  It would be A. Romrero’s first goal of his young MLS season and career, making the scoreline 1-0 Impact.  Then at the 63′ a questionable red card by the referee on J. Larentowicz left the Fire playing with ten men for the rest of the match.  It appeared that Larentowitz was just trying to get out of way.  Nothing intentional about that play at all.  He definitely didn’t deserve a red card.

Anyway, it all fell apart for the Fire from there.  Just 13 minutes later right in front of the box, a quick spin around kick from team leader in goals (4) Marco Di Vaio found the left bottom corner of the net for the second goal of the game. 2-0 Impact.  It would also turn out to be the final of the game.

Montreal dominated the game during the second half.  The Impact had 62 percent of the possession and six shots on goal.  The Impact improve their record to 5-1-1 and seem to be the real deal in contending for The MLS title.  The Big Red on other hand drop to 2-5-1 and need to regroup and find themselves for next match against The Philadelphia Union.  They’ll have a week off to think about letting this season get away before its too late.

When I watched the Columbus Crew take on the Philadelphia Union last week in Columbus (Yeah, I was there. It was awesome because admit it, Crew Stadium rocks), I have to admit, the Crew were pretty sluggish looking. They were coming off a bye week, which always personally makes me a tad nervous because I never know how the team is going to play coming back from a week off.

But that’s a moot point now. They were a tad sluggish, Ben Speas had a rough game, Federico Higuain was pretty much shut down… but Dominic Oduro had a crazy goal from a wicked angle that would save the Crew and help them draw the Union 1-1.

So, when the Crew traveled to Montreal to take on the Impact this weekend, I was hoping for a bit more of the Crew I had seen before the bye week. Especially against Montreal, who are currently leading the Eastern Conference.

The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but heavy snowfall forced the game to be postponed to Sunday. A lot of focus had been put on this snow, like it would be an advantage for Montreal. I don’t know what some people were thinking with that – I mean, Columbus has its fair share of snow. But anyway, the pitch was cleared and the game started Sunday as scheduled.

This game was the first of two road trips for the Crew – next week the Black and Gold will head to rivals Chicago Fire’s stadium. Road games have been fairly kind to Columbus thus far this season; it’s the home matches they haven’t been able to put their thumbs on.

I will say this for the Crew – they definitely seemed snappier and more lively in the beginning of this game. But it was Montreal who had their act together for the majority of the half. The Crew’s trouble to keep the ball was still evident even though statistically they had more shots than the Impact. However, as the first half wound down, the Crew finally settled a bit and started to put effective pressure on the back line of the Impact. Montreal’s keeper Troy Perkins even had to make a couple of lively saves.

The second half though was where this game was at. Montreal came out looking far more lethal in the opening minutes of the half than Columbus did. But the Crew backline – which have proven to be stronger this season than in the recent past – were able to shut down the chances.

Still, it would be Montreal that would strike first, shortly after a goal notched by Marco Di Vaio was called back for being offside. It was a close call, in my opinion. He might have been slightly off side, but in the replay it was very close. However, Di Vaio would get his goal five minutes later with a heck of a strike. Montreal had some confidence after that, but it wasn’t to last.

Minutes later, Columbus answered in the form of Dominic Oduro. Josh Williams hit in a cross, which took a knock from a Montreal player. What was great about it from there was that Oduro got a fantastic first touch on the ball with his right foot, which settled the ball enough for him to hit his own amazing swinging shot with his left foot. The ball was buried in the corner and the teams were level again.

The rest of the match was typical back and forth, and a bit chippy as both teams were clearly going for the win. But it would end 1-1 and thankfully, the Crew were able to steal points from the conference leaders.

Overall, I was generally happy with the Crew’s performance this week. It was a definite improvement from the showdown against the Union and I feel pretty confident as they go into preparations to face Chicago. The one thing that still bugs me thus far about Columbus this season is holding the ball in the midfield.

We’ve seen what Higuain, Arrieta and Oduro can do on the offense and we’ve seen Williams, Chad Marshall, Viana, Tyson Wahl and Glauber pull together to make a fairly solid defense. It’s the midfield however that has me frustrated. The Crew can’t seem to get the ball and hold it. There were a few times during the Sunday match up that Columbus looked strong and were able to quickly move the ball through the midfield and toward goal. However, if they were forced to slow down or were ganged up on in the mid, they would lose the ball easily. Oh, and Ben Speas… man, what is going on? Against DC United, he was amazing and on point. The past two weeks though, he seems a bit out of focus.

Against Chicago, I hope the Crew can get more possession and that midfield gets it together to help feed in balls to Higuain, who can then feed them into Oduro or Arrieta. Once they get that set, I believe the Crew will definitely be a force to be reckoned with.

Be sure to keep up with MLS recaps, USMNT news and more on the Aerys Soccer’s twitter account (@AerysSoccer) and on our Facebook page.

The early goal in today’s match up between the New York Red Bulls and Montreal Impact came from the Impact’s Di Vaio in the 13th minute would be the only one for the afternoon match. This was a road game for the Red Bulls where they played before 26,259 fans in attendance at the Olympic Stadium including the NYRB’s own supporters that made the trip.

The Red Bulls fall to Montreal Impact

With Thierry Henry out and Dax McCarty stepping up as captain for the team today – it was easy to see that Dax was playing double duty. Tim Cahill and Roy Miller were both out since they are pulling international duty for their respective countries. Montreal’s defenders never wavered and even with some good chances – it just wasn’t the Red Bulls game. Some would say this could be rebuilding year for the team since they are essentially a new team with a new coach but it is still early in the season – there is no need to panic. Today was also former PSG striker and newly signed Red Bull, Peguy Luyindula’s debut – he gave a good game and will be one to make a difference for the team.

What this game was not short on were yellow cards; Juninho – 17th, Steele – 42nd, Barklage – 65th and 73rd, Alexander – 81st and Montreal’s Camara in the 85th for taking down Conor Lade. It will be interesting to see what goes on for New York at their next game and if Barklage will be kept off the Starting XI.

Something to keep in mind is that NYRB have acquired Kevin Hartman, the two time MLS Cup winning goalkeeper this past week. In addition he will be serving as a Goalkeeping Development Manager – let’s hope that translates into becoming Gandalf and keeping a clean sheet for New York. Kevin is one of the most decorated players in MLS. The only player in League history to play and start over 400 regular season matches in MLS, Kevin Hartman joins the Red Bulls after three years with FC Dallas. Last year, Hartman recorded 30 starts and earned six shutouts, adding to his all-time shutout record which currently stands at 112. During his time with Dallas, Hartman compiled 83 starts and helped FC Dallas reach the MLS Cup Final in 2010.

Hartman is all smiles with Mike Petke

Today’s Starting XI vs. the Montreal Impact: Robles; Barklage, Holgersson, Pearce, Kimura; Alexander, McCarty (C), Juninho, Steele, Luyindula, Espindola
Bench: Castano, Lade, Christianson, Rafhinha, Sam, Bover

New York will get a chance to make things right when they face the Philadelphia Union at home on March 30th, the game will air on NBC Sports Network.

What a day in the soccer world yesterday! For me, I was pumped the very moment I woke up at 6 a.m. that morning. The news that Real Madrid beat Barcelona for the second time this week was just the beginning. But then I looked at my Avengers calendar, my eyes drawn to the gigantic green & blue star covering today’s date.

Dun dun dun! Yesterday was the first day of the new 2013-2014 MLS season, everybody! I hope you are all just as excited as I am. Last night was the opening match for the Seattle Sounders who faced off the Montreal Impact.

Sadly, the Impact shut us out. At home. In front of 38,998 people. The sea of rave green covering the stands at Century Link field. It wasn’t the best way to start the season but you have to remember, the season is just beginning!

The Sounders were brilliant on the pitch throughout the match and with every chance for a goal; the ball just didn’t want to go in. Eddie Johnson came dangerously close to scoring late in the second half but that crossbar just had to demolish Seattle’s chances of an equalizer.

It seemed as if that crossbar was the 23^rd man on the pitch tonight, blocking shots from Brad Evans and Montreal’s Davy Arnaud. However Arnaud scored early for the Impact in the 34^th minute finding a gap in the midfield (with an assist by Felipe Martins), lobbing the ball through Seattle’s loose defense and past Gspurning for the lone goal of the match.

On Wednesday I pointed out Dijimi Traore, the new signing for the Sounders. Rumors had it that the veteran defender would be playing tonight but that wasn’t the case.

Even with our first loss, it was great to witness the lead up of the first kick. Social media networks blew up with fan anticipation, making even the less die-hard soccer fans excited.

The Sounders next match focuses on CCL when they head down to Monterrey, Mexico to face Tigres.

Until next time Sounders fans…..rave on!

Stay tuned to @AerysSoccer for all your soccer updates and in-depth MLS coverage!

Photo courtesy of Seattle Sounders FC

It’s almost time ladies and gents! We’re 2 days away from the 2013 MLS season! To get you geared up for an exciting weekend, it’s time to run through all of the new jerseys some of the MLS teams will be unveiling this season.

Let’s start things off with New York Red Bulls. Our NY writer, Dani has your complete coverage on the night over here.

Red Bulls Primary Jersey

Philadelphia Union decided to “kick it old school” with their new third kits. It’s a slick look that took more than two years to create. You can read more on how they came up with the new look over here.

Union 3rd Jersey

Colorado Rapids took it to a whole new level with their kits. In place of the hoops on their home jersey, the Rapids decided to put the names of their season ticket holders. Interesting, but pretty awesome. The Rapids also decided to pay homage to Colorado by using the state flag colors on their new second kits.

Rapids Home Jersey

Rapids Second Jersey

Houston Dynamo decided to keep things simple and clean. They are keeping the same third kit from last year, and adding the saying “Forever Orange” to their new kits. They also added the Texas state flag and a tape design after their new BBVA stadium.

Dynamo Primary Jersey

Keeping on the track of paying homage to their cities or states, Toronto FC is at the top of the list. With their new designs, the maple leaf stands out and the jersey is crisp and clean. TFC also added the saying “All For One” on the back of their jersey.

TFC Primary Jersey

Montreal Impact kept their jersey the “old style” and stayed traditional with the collar and buttons. It is a throwback style to their very first jersey they had in 1993. You can read more and watch a video over here.

Impact 3rd Jersey

Sporting KC showed off their primary jersey with a new style as they decided to pay tribute to Kansas and Missouri. They also have a new sponsor, Ivy Funds, which dominates most of the jersey with their logo.  SKC’s jersey also has two Sporting logos; one on the front and one on the back. Nice little details that make up a terrific jersey.

SKC Primary Jersey

Seattle Sounders went back to their signature “rave green” in their new Primary jersey. It features the space needle on the left side in a silver tone. For their secondary ones, they went opposite of their bright jersey, with a black one. It features lime green stripes that pop against the black and out of all the new 2013 jerseys, it’s a personal favorite for me.

Seattle Primary Jersey

Seattle Secondary Jersey

Vancouver Whitecaps kept it simple with their new primary kits. The cool white jersey is off set with the navy diagonal stripes. It’s a classic and crisp look. Simple, and to the point!

Whitecaps Primary Jersey

For LA Galaxy’s new second kit, talk about classy. To tie in with the Galaxy theme adidas decided to put the Quasar as apart of the shoulder and bottom detail. You can read my article on LA’s new kit, plus other things over here. 

LA Galaxy 2nd Jersey

Portland Timbers released their new jersey, and the look is crisp and clean. The kits feature the Timbers Army chant on the inside of the collar. Nice little addition to pay tribute to their loyal fans. You can read more on the new kits over here.

Timbers Primary Jersey

Timbers Secondary Jersey

There you have it! Look for the new kits as the teams take the field this weekend, and during the 2013 season. If you want to order any of them you can do so on MLSgear.com.

Don’t forget to follow @AerysSoccer on twitter to keep up with all of the latest news, and game highlights from First Kick!

Well this is it! We’re are days, just days away from First Kick 2013 in Major League Soccer! Already, the expectations are high and the ladies here at Aerys Soccer cannot wait for the teams to hit the pitches again.

As we gear up for this season, we’re still looking for some writers to cover teams in MLS. Do you love talking about your favorite team? Feel the need to write up a rant or gush about a new player? Need to call out your coach or sing the praises of your favorite forward? Check out the graphic below listing the teams we have openings for and if you’re interested, let us know!

Hmmm, some great MLS teams listed! If you’re a fan of one or of the league in general, shoot me an e-mail at trista.lutgring@gmail.com! We’d love to bring you on board!

And as always, make sure to follow us at @AerysSoccer as we dive into MLS 2013

Get ready everyone, the 2013 MLS Season is almost here! Here are the 2013 home openers for all 19 teams!

 Saturday, March 2:

Philadelphia Union vs. Sporting Kansas City (PPL Park)
FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids (FC Dallas Stadium)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC (BC Place)
Houston Dynamo vs. D.C. United (BBVA Compass Stadium)
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Montreal Impact (CenturyLink Field)
Chivas USA vs. Columbus Crew (The Home Depot Center)

Sunday, March 3:

LA Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire (The Home Depot Center)
Portland Timbers vs. New York Red Bulls (JELD-WEN Field)
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake (Buck Shaw Stadium)

Saturday, March 9:

Toronto FC vs. Sporting Kansas City (TBD)
D.C. United vs. Real Salt Lake (RFK Stadium)
Colorado Rapids vs. Philadelphia Union (Dick’s Sporting Goods Park)
Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution (Toyota Park)

Saturday, March 16:

New York Red Bulls vs. D.C. United (Red Bull Arena)
Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire (Livestrong Sporting Park)
Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids (Rio Tinto Stadium)
Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC (Olympic Stadium)
Columbus Crew vs. San Jose Earthquakes (Crew Stadium)

Saturday, March 23:

New England Revolution vs. FC Dallas (Gillette Stadium)

2013 is going to be one great MLS year!